Chapter 926

The pure white snowflakes, the colorful Christmas tree, and the colorful scenery accompanied by all kinds of celebratory banners made this Christmas particularly wonderful.

When the New Year's bell rang, Franz fell into memories. Looking at the decades that he had lived in secrecy, there were too many stories to tell.

This Christmas, there were no guests. Other than the necessary guards, even the servants were put on leave by Franz.

The ones who organized the celebration were all a group of juniors. It was a rare day of reunion, so they had to do it themselves.

It was meaningful, but the scene was a little out of control. The pampered little guys were obviously not used to this kind of rough work.

Looking at the dark cuisine on the table, Franz was very doubtful whether these things could be eaten.

However, seeing that everyone was eating happily, Franz was relieved. Anyway, he would not eat it. Old people were no longer suitable for late-night snacks.

Being able to survive until now was all because of Franz's good maintenance. Looking at the queen in front of him, she was already yawning. If it wasn't for the tradition, she would have gone to sleep.

Well, tradition was just an excuse. The main thing was that these days of reunion were numbered. With the victory of the world war, the last wave of enfeoffment was about to begin.

After so many years of paving the way, it was time to reap the harvest. As the big winner of the war, the House of Habsburg also had its own fruits of victory.

The Holy Roman Empire had a vast territory, and now it had more than 20 million square kilometers of land from the British. Except for the uninhabitable Antarctica, it occupied almost two-fifths of the earth.

Unless they followed the colonial model, the central government would not be able to manage it.

With the development of the times, the cost of colonial rule also increased, and it was only a matter of time before it was eliminated.

Especially the occupied areas of Shinra, most of them were vast and sparsely populated. It was even more uneconomical to play with colonial rule.

Anyway, it was Shinra that played with the state system and enfeoffment system, so it was better to continue to use it. Especially in the remote areas, after the enfeoffment of meritorious officials, and then send a prince or grandson over, it would be a state.

Except for the eldest son and grandson who were destined to inherit the throne, the rest of the children and grandchildren were arranged by Franz.

Limited by transportation, it took a long time to go back and forth, which meant that they would spend more time apart in the future.

But there was no other way. If the House of Habsburg wanted to continue to develop and grow, it was necessary to branch out.

The opportunity was already in their hands. If they did not grasp it, how could they talk about the future?

"Parents love their children, so they have a far-reaching plan." On this issue, Franz and his wife had the same opinion.

As time went by, Franz and his wife were both very old in terms of the average life expectancy these days. There weren't many Christmases like this where the whole family reunited.

Once the enfeoffment was complete, perhaps the next reunion would have to wait several years. For example, Franz's 80th birthday, or the 20th anniversary of Holy Empire's reestablishment. Such a great occasion would be celebrated by the whole world.

This could also be considered a happy worry. There were many people who would risk their lives for a piece of land. Many families even put in the effort of three generations, but still failed to fulfill their wishes.

Aristocratic families were better off. They had received relevant military education from a young age. As long as their aptitude was not too bad and they worked hard enough, it would not be difficult for them to enter a military academy.

With the connections left by their parents, the probability of them making military contributions on the battlefield was much higher than the average person. As long as they were lucky enough to be in a big battle, they could take advantage of the situation and survive.

As long as they were lucky enough to be in a big battle, they could take advantage of the situation and survive. Then, they could earn a foundation.

The commoners at the bottom were miserable. They had to start from scratch, and those who could make it were all God's favorites.

Although the majority of the enfeoffed were officers and soldiers of civilian origin, there were also a large number of noble branch families, the middle class, capitalists, and the descendants of bureaucrats.

It seemed that these people had no foundation in the army, but they had a solid economic foundation!

Parents in the German Region were famous for being willing to invest in their children's education. The world was not peaceful these days. Under the national military service system, military knowledge could not be neglected.

In terms of theory, knowledge, and conduct, the children of these families were not inferior to the children of the nobles.

There were even many who were interested in the path of enfeoffed with military merits, or who wanted to develop in the army for a long time. They had completed the recruit training in advance before joining the army.

With these advantages, the probability of being promoted in the army was obviously higher than the children of the commoners.

In fact, the parents of the commoners who could stand out had a rich military career and could pass on the relevant knowledge.

It was not fair, that was for sure. But this world was cruel, and it could not be changed by one's will.

As the emperor, Franz only needed to ensure the fighting strength and loyalty of the army. As for the background of the officers under him, it was not important.

It could only be blamed that the world war was too short. It ended in less than a year, leaving no time for ordinary people to grow.

Of course, this cover couldn't be opened. No matter how small the probability was, it was still a probability. There were not many who became nobles, but there were many who were given a piece of land.

British Africa, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, British Indochina, and several islands, there was too much land that could be distributed.

This was only the legacy left by the British. Although the other countries that participated in the war were not as fertile, they still had a few taels of meat, and there would always be a harvest.

The newly occupied areas needed population, and the bestowal of land for military merits was the best opportunity to recruit immigrants. Not only would there be immigrants, but there would also be an army to guard these lands.

Sometimes, Franz even wondered if it was too much to play like this. However, when he saw how eager the people were, he decisively put away this dangerous thought.

It had not been many years since the abolition of serfdom, and it was the time when everyone was most obsessed with land, especially when the income and living standards of farmers were higher than that of workers.

The small people also had the wisdom of the small people. The facts were in front of them, higher income, better life, and a foundation that could be passed down.

If this was a scheme, then let this kind of scheme happen more often. People did not mind a few more pieces of land.

As for using everyone to guard the territory, that was even less of a problem. If they did not guard their own land, who would guard it?

…

Some people were happy, and some were disappointed. While Franz was sad about the lack of separation in the future, Buckingham Palace was even more gloomy.

Although he was mentally prepared, Edward VII could not help but feel sad when Britannia really surrendered.

With a sad mood, this Christmas was naturally not good. Even this year's Santa Claus was not as beautiful as in previous years.

It was meaningless to sum up the experience, find a response, and prepare for a comeback.

The island country could not afford to fail. Britannia, with its small territory and poor people, had a low tolerance for mistakes. Defeat meant losing everything.

Especially in the past few hundred years, Britannia had pulled the hatred of the world to the maximum, which made it more difficult to make a comeback.

Even if they used insider trading to protect the British Isles by bribing the Government of Vienna, it still could not change the reality of Britannia's decline.

Thinking about it, Edward VII felt depressed. He did not do badly, and could even be considered excellent, but he became the terminator of the Victorian era.

Fortunately, Britannia implemented a constitutional monarchy, and the cabinet was in the front to take the blame, attracting the firepower of the people.

As everyone knew, the king was old, and his poor health in the past year had nothing to do with the war.

Of course, the most important reason why Edward VII could escape unscathed was the will of the Continental Alliance, or in other words, the Government of Vienna deliberately let the war go.

The deal between Vienna and the Government of the United Kingdom had just been reached and was currently in progress. What they needed now was a stable Britannia.

Compared to changing the prime minister, the impact of changing the king was obviously greater, and Britannia might directly collapse.

As the winner of the war, the Holy Roman Empire had too many interests to take over, and had no time to waste on the British in the short term.

In addition, another important reason was to preserve Britannia's decadent bureaucracy.

Any old empire had all kinds of problems, and the difficulty of reform was often greater than demolishing and rebuilding. Especially after the end of the colonial era, the contradictions could not be transferred to the outside world, and the difficulty of reform was even greater.

This was an overt plot, but Edward VII and the Government of the United Kingdom could not refuse. As a member of a vested interest group, they could not take their own lives!

The current prime minister, Campbell, was the leader of the reformists. During his tenure, he made many changes to the British Empire, and it could be said that his political achievements were outstanding.

If it was not for this war, his historical evaluation would definitely not be low, and he might even become the greatest prime minister of Britannia.

However, the problem was that Campbell was too capable. If it was a mediocre prime minister, perhaps the world war would not have broken out so quickly.

History was always full of comedy, and if it was made into a movie, everyone would probably find it hard to believe, and it would be completely different from everyone's daily knowledge.

A capable king and a capable prime minister pulled the slowly declining British Empire back from the halfway point, but it fell directly from another path into the abyss.

It was unbelievable just thinking about it, but it happened in reality. If it was not for Campbell's reform, Britannia would still be slacking in the free trade system, and for a while, it would not even notice that its own market was being eroded.

To be able to replace the British Empire like boiling a frog in warm water, the Government of Vienna naturally would not resort to force. After all, war also cost money.

It was destined to be a sleepless Christmas Eve. Edward VII was not feeling well, and the Government of the United Kingdom was even more tragic. No one prepared for the holiday, and there was not even a Christmas tree in the prime minister's official residence.

As the tragedy of the era, the Campbell government was now left with one last mission, and that was to sign the surrender document and shoulder the responsibility of the defeat.

Then, there was no then. Everything was settled, and it was time for the new government to take office and specifically implement the treaty.

Listening to the New Year's bell, Campbell said helplessly, "After Christmas, the Vienna Peace Conference is about to begin. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs should send someone to participate as soon as possible!"

Not taking a holiday on Christmas, but discussing government affairs, just thinking about it made one speechless.

However, as a defeated country, the Campbell government had no choice. The war had just ended, and all kinds of troubles came to the door. There were a lot of things to deal with, and there was no time to take a vacation.

Even this kind of international event that everyone originally rushed to attend, now no one even took the initiative to sign up. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had to pick an unlucky person.

In this regard, the Government of Vienna was still very easy to talk to. No matter who was sent, no matter the level of the representative, as long as the person could sign on behalf of the British Empire, it would be fine.

For the Campbell government, this was also crucial. Although it had a bad reputation, it was better to have one less than one more.

The people were forgetful, and time could dilute everything. Especially for other members of the cabinet, as long as they reduced their presence, it was likely that they would be forgotten by the people in three to five years.

Only the prime minister and the person who signed the surrender document could be remembered by everyone. Especially the representative who signed the surrender document, the "traitor" hat would almost certainly be worn.

This was also a reward to the Government of the United Kingdom for being sensible. Just like in World War I, because the Germans took the initiative to surrender, the Allies also gave up pursuing war criminals.

If the Government of the United Kingdom chose to fight to the end, it would be the treatment of World War II. As the head of the government of a defeated country, all of them had to go to the military court.

"Okay, Prime Minister. I'll arrange it, it won't delay things. "

Foreign Minister Adam said calmly. Anyway, the conditions of the armistice had been secretly agreed long ago, and the Vienna Peace Conference only made some adjustments to the details.

As a defeated country, Britannia had no right to speak in the Vienna Peace Conference, and it would be the same no matter who was sent.

The senior government officials did not feel good, and the people at the bottom did not have a good Christmas. The war was over, but the trade blockade between countries had not been lifted.

The reserves of the British Isles had long been consumed, such as candy, coffee, tea, cigarettes, alcohol, and other daily supplies, now became luxury goods.

Even to celebrate Christmas, the Government of the United Kingdom increased the supply of supplies, and each person only had an extra liter of milk, a 300-gram piece of bread, a small dried fish, and the rest of the food was potatoes, corn, soybeans, and other miscellaneous grains.

Not only was the quantity of supplies insufficient, but the quality was even more disappointing, and it tasted like fodder.

Combined with the government's ban on the slaughter of livestock and the prohibition of alcohol brewing half a year ago, the relief food distributed now was likely to be the rations of those livestock.

It was good enough to have food to eat, and there was no capital to be picky during the war. As long as the enemy did not lift the blockade, the supply of supplies to the British Isles would not return to normal.

…

Deep in the alley, in an ordinary small courtyard, the James family was celebrating this special Christmas.

Looking at the food on the table, James, who was forcing a smile, was on the verge of collapse.

In order to have a good Christmas, he went to three black markets in a row, but he was short of money, and in the end, he stopped because of the high price.

There was no candy, no cake, and no turkey, only a few pieces of bread, a carton of milk, and a baked potato for each person.

This standard was the living conditions of the people at the bottom of the social ladder before the war. James, who came from a slightly better family, had a much higher standard of living, and at least there was no lack of sauce for every meal.

Looking at his son, who had always been picky about food, eating happily at the moment, James only felt sad.